Bragging rights: 5 Android KitKat features exclusive to the Nexus 5

posted by Daniel P. / Nov 06, 2013, 9:07 AM

Google wouldn't leave its Android 4.4 KitKat poster child, the Nexus 5, without some exclusive features now, would it? From low-power audio playback to full-screen wallpapers with preview - these are Android KitKat novelties you can enjoy solely on the Nexus 5 for now.

Well, some of those exclusive functions are made available to some other handsets with custom 4.4 ROMs out there, thanks to the modding crowd, but not the whole set at once, as that would entail certain hardware requirements that the Nexus 5 is in possession of.

Check out the whole bunch below and stay loud and proud with your Google phone against the rest of the Android posse.

5 Android KitKat features exclusive to the Nexus 5

Android 4.4 KitKat introduces support for low-power audio playback, so the Nexus 5 can sing lullabies to you for quite a while, says Google: "...with audio tunneling, Nexus 5 offers a total off-network audio playback time of up to 60 hours, an increase of over 50% over non-tunneled audio."

Unfortunately, "audio tunneling requires support in the device hardware. Currently audio tunneling is available on Nexus 5 and we're working with our chipset partners to make it available on more devices as soon as possible."

Another exclusive hardware feature of the Nexus 5 are the new step detector and counter sensors. Coupled with the new sensor batching technology on the phone, you have an always-on step counter that can be used in health & fitness apps without draining the battery:

"With sensor batching, Android works with the device hardware to collect and deliver sensor events efficiently in batches, rather than individually as they are detected. This lets the device's application processor remain in a low-power idle state until batches are delivered. You can request batched events from any sensor using a standard event listener, and you can control the interval at which you receive batches. You can also request immediate delivery of events between batch cycles.Sensor batching is ideal for low-power, long-running use-cases such as fitness, location tracking, monitoring, and more. It can makes your app more efficient and it lets you track sensor events continuously — even while the screen is off and the system is asleep."

Low-power audio and sensor batching

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What Google calls HDR+ mode on the Nexus 5 is a run-of-the-mill high dynamic range photography. Burst shots with different exposure settings get combined on the fly to bring out the details in both dark and bright areas of the scene, but Google has seemingly added some additional tweaks like sharpening algorithms.

Edges seem so clear-cut compared to the non-HDR+ frames taken with the Nexus 5, that it looks almost unnatural, though the dreaded digital noise that appears with software sharpening seems to be kept largely in check, too. White balance gets off-kilter when using it in low-light scenarios, though, as you can see in our night sample.

HDR+ photography

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If you've got a Nexus 5 (or certain phones with custom 4.4 ROMs), "your wallpaper now extends through the notification tray and system buttons. And when you change your wallpaper, you can preview just how it will look before you set it."

Full-screen wallpapers with preview

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KitKat brings left-swipe gesture calling for the Google Now personal butler, and that's what you'll be stuck with when Android 4.4 hits your handset.

If you have a Nexus 5, however, you can say "OK, Google" right on the home screen, and the voice search function will be launched without you having to even touch the display. It's not the always-on ability we have on phones like the Moto X, which listens to you even in locked state, but it's still bragging rights.

Funny enough, when we forced the Nexus 5 launcher and the new Google Now on something like the Nexus 4, Google's last year pride obtained the same ability to launch voice searches from the homescreen with the "OK, Google" catchphrase.

Always-on voice-controlled assistance from the home screen

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This is a cryptic one, but Google says "improved software and Nexus 5’s new hardware mean Android responds to your touch faster and more accurately than ever before."

We'll keep badgering the Mountain View crowd to explain themselves with these unique touchscreen response improvements for the Nexus 5. In the meantime - this is feature number 5 in our list of exclusives that KitKat brings only to Google's finest for the year, so you can sleep tight knowing how unique you will be for getting a Nexus 5.

Touchscreen improvements

5 Android KitKat features exclusive to the Nexus 5

Android 4.4 KitKat introduces support for low-power audio playback, so the Nexus 5 can sing lullabies to you for quite a while, says Google: "...with audio tunneling, Nexus 5 offers a total off-network audio playback time of up to 60 hours, an increase of over 50% over non-tunneled audio."

Unfortunately, "audio tunneling requires support in the device hardware. Currently audio tunneling is available on Nexus 5 and we're working with our chipset partners to make it available on more devices as soon as possible."

Another exclusive hardware feature of the Nexus 5 are the new step detector and counter sensors. Coupled with the new sensor batching technology on the phone, you have an always-on step counter that can be used in health & fitness apps without draining the battery:

"With sensor batching, Android works with the device hardware to collect and deliver sensor events efficiently in batches, rather than individually as they are detected. This lets the device's application processor remain in a low-power idle state until batches are delivered. You can request batched events from any sensor using a standard event listener, and you can control the interval at which you receive batches. You can also request immediate delivery of events between batch cycles.Sensor batching is ideal for low-power, long-running use-cases such as fitness, location tracking, monitoring, and more. It can makes your app more efficient and it lets you track sensor events continuously — even while the screen is off and the system is asleep."

Posts: 230; Member since: Aug 14, 2012

posted on Nov 06, 2013, 9:27 AM 1

Posts: 17093; Member since: Jun 17, 2009

It does. The feature is included, but other outings don't have the tech to use it. Android can use GSM radios. My Verizon phone doesn't have GSM. That's not leaving it off my phone.
It's not like Siri, which could and did run fine on older iPhones, but Apple chose not to allow it.

Posts: 252; Member since: Mar 03, 2011

posted on Nov 06, 2013, 12:09 PM 1

Posts: 428; Member since: Nov 26, 2011

This post is about exclusives to the Nexus 5 so why would software features be listed as exclusives?
The official rom for the Nexus 4 or Nexus 7 (2013) aren't out yet so we don't know if HDR+ or full screen wallpapers are exclusive to Nexus 5.

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